“Welcome back friends,” Lady Sharlee greeted them with a warm welcoming smile as Coran and Mistale entered the Green Door, once the most notorious festhall in the dalelands, now a comfortable inn run by four half-elven ladies known for their hospitality and beauty, adding with a bit of surprise when her eyes landed on Taenya; “I see you have a new traveling companion.” “Lady Sharlee… may I present Taenya Aendryr, priestess of Eilistraee,” Coran announced with an overly formal tone and courtly gesture toward the drow. “I assure you, she bares no malice and has one of the brightest hearts I have ever encountered.” “Yes… malice is the one thing she does not bare,” Mistale chimed in with a capricious smirk; her mood having been decidedly lighten by a few pints of ale at the Silver Taproom, a famous tavern just next door, their first stop upon arriving in Essembra in the late afternoon… now as the sun started to set, they had come seeking accommodations. “I see,” the half-elven innkeeper acknowledged with a coy smile of her own, understanding the bard’s thinly vailed innuendo. She wouldn’t have considered allow a drow under her roof, if she hadn’t been vouched for by the two previous guests, who had proven themselves worthy by keeping the inns secret. “Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting one before, I have heard of the ‘daughters of the Dark Maiden’, and it will be our honor to accommodate your every need.” “You’re most gracious,” Taenya replied with clear gratitude, a bit surprised by her welcoming attitude. Although she’d found that the patrons and staff of the tavern were also surprisingly accepting of her presence. “Will you be needing more than one room?” the innkeeper inquired in a professional tone, but with a mischievous gleam in her eye and a coy smile turning her lips. “No,” Coran replied with a coquettish smirk, which grew into a wicked grin as he looked toward Mistale and added; “but we will need a very large bed… and Taenya is require to pray outside under the moonlight in a rather uninhibited ritual that your other guests may be a little taken aback by.” “Yes, I’ve heard of how Eilistraee’s faithful honor the ‘Lady of the Dance’,” Sharlee admitted with a knowing smile, “and as you know we have a private bower… which you are welcome to use. I must say I’m quite intrigued to witness the rite… if you don’t mind.” “As Coran said… I have no inhibitions about my prayers… although they are performed for Eilistraee’s pleasure, I strive to bring joy to others in every way I can, so you are most welcome to watch… or join in if you feel so moved.” Showing the trio to a room that overlooked the wooded area behind the inn, with a sizable bed, Sharlee graciously left them with an agreement to meet at the bower after moonrise, but Taenya could tell that there was something the others were not telling her. As they settled in, she inquired with an almost reluctant tone; “Is there something going on that I don’t know?” Coran and Mistale exchanged a questioning glance, hesitant to reveal the inn’s secret only because it wasn’t really theirs to decide who it should be shared with, but he decided that lady Sharlee’s invitation to use the bower was basically equivalent to permission and explained; “The ‘Green Door’ isn’t just the name of the inn, and not only a reference to the color of the entrance… it’s a pool of divination sacred to Mielikki hidden in the bower behind the inn. Only the faithful of the Lady of the Forest and a select few trusted with the secret by them or the inn’s staff know about its existence.”